Earth observationand communications
Persistent 100 km footprint.
Rapid deployment and refit.
No rocket
launch.
The Axon stratospheric platform holds position above the weather for days at a time, with payloads that can
be changed, recovered, and reflown. Delivered as a service: fly your own payload, or simply receive the
data.
Axon is in development, with the first platform now in build.
Engineered for today.
LEO satellites don't stay overhead. Most drones stay low. Balloons drift with the wind. Axon bridges the gap: a hybrid platform combining buoyant lift with aerodynamic control, built for efficient, recoverable flights all year round.
Extended time in position
Buoyant lift holds altitude without drawing power, leaving the energy budget for holding position and powering the payload. This supports days on station at a time.
Payload flexibility
Payload capacity from 1 to 20 kg. Fly your own sensors or equipment, or use ours. Payloads are recovered between flights and reconfigured as your requirements evolve.
Controlled, predictable recovery
Axon returns under aerodynamic control to a designated landing area, protecting payloads and enabling fast turnaround.
Operates above the limits
Above controlled airspace, conventional air traffic and the weather, without the upfront cost and lead time of a satellite mission.
Closer to your target
At 21 km, far below the lowest satellite orbit, Axon delivers higher resolution from equivalent optics, or comparable resolution from far simpler systems, and lower communication latency.
Open payload geometry
A large, flat, stable mounting platform with simultaneous unobstructed views of both ground and sky, suited to a wide range of payload configurations.
Where Axon delivers.
Axon opens up a broad range of applications, from communications to science to space test. A few of the areas we are focused on:
Broadband and telecoms for network operators serving rural, remote or post-disaster regions, across a 100 km diameter footprint (minimum 22° elevation) from a single platform, with latency closer to terrestrial infrastructure than any satellite alternative.
Persistent monitoring of land, coast and sea without satellite revisit gaps, including methane and other emissions, wildfire, flooding, infrastructure, agriculture, shipping and maritime security.
A stratospheric relay for satellite-to-ground optical and quantum communications links. Axon sits above the densest and most turbulent part of the atmosphere, giving satellites a fixed target that is reliably clear of cloud.
For research institutions and meteorological agencies needing in-situ sampling from ground level to the stratosphere, ozone and aerosol measurement, or long-duration weather observation.
Axon operates above 99% of the Earth's water vapour, providing exceptional conditions for optical and infrared astronomy without the lead time of a space mission.
Near-space conditions in a fully recoverable platform. Test and iterate hardware, software, and communications systems in weeks rather than years, without the upfront cost and lead time of an orbital mission. The environment also shares characteristics with lunar and Martian surface conditions.
Scaling by payload.
Axon is developed in stages by payload class, with each platform building directly on the one before. Each stage extends the payload capacity available through the Axon service.
- Stage 1 1 kg In build
- Stage 2 5 kg Planned
- Stage 3 10 kg Planned
- Stage 4 20 kg Planned
Axon is in development. We're looking for technology, payload, operational and funding partners. Let's talk.
Engineering-led. Commercially focused.
StratoRise is a UK-based engineering business actively developing Axon, a stratospheric platform built on over two decades of avionics and aerospace engineering across uncrewed systems and flight-critical electronics.
We build capability that is technically credible and commercially viable, grounded in deep aerospace experience and a pragmatic view of operational reality.
Avionics and embedded systems engineer (EngD, University of Southampton) with over 20 years' experience in uncrewed aircraft development.
LinkedInaerospace engineering
operating altitude
developed
aerodynamic control
Alumni
Let's find your solution.
Whether you have a defined application, an early-stage concept, or a hard requirement you haven't yet found an answer for, we'd be glad to hear from you.
[email protected]